Fifty Feet South
by Zenamydog
Summary: Self indulgent cliché' Olicity. Picks up after 3.07 When a bomb blows up a building, Felicity is trapped underground. Oliver and Ray must work together to free her. The mutual respect they gain for each other makes it hard when the time comes to fight for the woman they both love.
1. Chapter 1

**Fandom:** Arrow

**Title:** Fifty Feet South Part 1 of 2

**Rating:** K+

**Characters/Pairing:** Olicity, Ray.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for anything aired in the US

**Word Count:** 5,319

**Summary:** Self indulgent cliché' Olicity. Picks up after 3:07. When a bomb blows up a building, Felicity is trapped underground. Oliver and Ray must work together to free her. The mutual respect they gain for each other makes it hard when the time comes to fight for the woman they both love.

**Authors Notes:** So this is my first fic in almost 2 years. It's also my first fic in this fandom. Please let me know what you think. Did I get the voices right etc. :)

Fuck was the first word that came to mind the moment Oliver opened his eyes. His head hurt and his right ankle was killing him. He'd been on his way to see Felicity. She had called him... Oliver blinked and tried to clear the fog from his brain. There were boulders around him and rocks on top of him, but he could move them.

He stood up, taking most of his weight on his left leg as he scanned the scene. How long he had been out for? There were fire engines and police cars everywhere. He could see a triage tent being set up on the main street as he started to climb through the rubble. There were Paramedics everywhere and sirens that rang loud in his ears. He switched the pain off a second later when he thought about Felicity. Did this explosion have anything to do with why Felicity was desperate for him to meet her? He cupped his mouth and yelled, "Felicity!" knowing there was no possible way, she'd yell back.

From his vantage point, he could the devastation. The explosion had taken out the whole side of the building. He'd been far enough away to have been thrown clear, but where was... There was no possible way to know. None.

"Hey?" A Paramedic ran towards him. "Are you okay? We have critically wounded and if you're okay? ... Get yourself to one of the Triage tents. You're probably in shock."

Oliver shook his head, still dazed. "No... My friend, she's... She's still in there somewhere."

The Paramedic looked over Oliver's shoulder at the concrete destruction behind him and his face softened. "The army's here to help with search and rescue. I believe there are private troops coming in as well. Look..." the Paramedic spoke softly. "I've seen this kind of thing in earth quakes. There are always survivors. Don't give up hope, but leave the search and rescue to the experts, okay? Go find a nurse to tend to your injuries and then register your girlfriend as missing."

"I said friend," Oliver snapped.

"Okay, friend..." The Paramedic smiled sympathetically. "Whatever the case may be, leave it to them, okay?"

A strange numbness started to envelop Oliver as he watched the man walk away. His brain was still trying to decipher what was happening. Most people were in the lobby when it all went down and that was clearly where most of the rescue effort was taking place.

"Oliver!" A familiar voice rang out from behind him. "Hey," Diggle said as he jogged to him. "Are you okay?" He reached out and placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "We were worried."

"I'll live, but we have to find Felicity. She called me and asked me to meet her here. She sounded... worried about something."

Diggle looked at his phone as he tapped his earpiece. "I've got Oliver, but Felicity isn't here."

"Roy?" Oliver asked and Diggle nodded holding the earpiece tighter to his ear. "We've traced her phone. That's how we located you. Yours must be around here within a few feet, somewhere."

Oliver furrowed his brow and reached into his back pocket. He couldn't believe it. He pulled out the phone and cut his finger on the smashed and broken screen. "This is toast," he said looking at Diggle in question. "How were you able to ping it?"

"I didn't say we pinged it," Diggle countered. "Felicity... she put tracers on all our phones, remember? Must be six months ago. The phone doesn't need to be active for it to work. She wanted to safe guard us so we'd always being found. Or... at least the phone would be."

Oliver searched his memory banks for a moment and wondered how he had missed that. "Glad she did," he said simply as he got his bearings. "How far?"

Diggle's face fell. "The signal from her phone is about fifty feet south but..."

Oliver just took off. He heard the 'but' however Fifty feet south rang louder in his ears. Felicity was fifty feet south. He ran, ignoring the throbbing in his ankle. His mind screamed, 'fuck' again, when he reached the thirty feet south mark. There were big slabs of twisted iron and concrete for as far as the eye could see. There seemed no way around or through it.

The noise was starting to get to him as he attempted to climb over the barriers that prevented him from reaching fifty feet south. He grimaced as he placed his full weight on his right ankle again. Walking was one thing, but climbing these beams were going to test him. He took in a breath and stilled his mind as he took another step up. Felicity was in there.

"Oliver stop!" Diggle yelled and he sounded out of breath.

Oliver looked down. "Is there another way to that position?" He could only hope.

"I've got Roy working on it!" Diggle looked up at him and the regret in his friend's eyes made Oliver's heart palpitate. "Oliver, it's now 19 feet south, but... it's also eleven feet down."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"No no no no no..." Felicity whispered out through dusty lips. She looked around her and more importantly, she looked above her. There were two steel beams in a cross pattern a few feet over her head. One leaned heavily against the wall she had her back to. At least she thought it was a wall. "Maybe it's a roof," she mumbled to herself, in an effort not to totally lose it. "Like in the Poseidon Adventure. The whole thing got turned upside down and they were all going the wrong way." She shifted her weight and rolled to her side. "Thing is..." She kept talking as she got to her knees and started to crawl forward. "This is a building not a ship. So if..." She trailed off when she moved out from what was towering over her. She gasped at the realization she owed her life to those two beams. The tons of concrete, rubble and steel resting on them would have seen her another statistic in whatever was going on.

Out from under the beams she could stand, but there was very little room to move. It was dark, but for a crack of light shining through the smallest of opening.

"Help!" Felicity tried to scream, but her dry throat caused her to cough, instead. Once, twice, but it was the third cough that moved the lose pebbles under her feet and caused dust to fall from above. This wasn't stable. "Oh God, I can't even scream." She swallowed hard and looked around.

"You're kidding me," Felicity said a moment later with a glint of hope in her voice. She'd caught a glimpse of something small and shiny. "Is that..." She moved forward and got back down onto her knees. There were two protruding boulders of concrete and between them sat... Felicity grinned. "Not kidding." Her phone was only a few feet away. Help was on its way.

"Okay." Felicity moved to lean up against one of the boulders. Was there any chance the phone wasn't smashed to pieces? It was still in its safety cover and she'd payed a fortune for said cover. She had a tendency to drop things and she was sick of replacing phones. Still, she mused as she reached between the two boulders to retrieve it. She didn't suppose it was covered for explosions. "Come on," she panted as she tried to stretch further. "Damn it."

When her third attempt failed, Felicity searched for something to drag the phone closer. It was only a few inches out of reach. If she could just... "Whoa," she said as she brought her hand to her head. A wave of nausea brought her to her knees again and she vomited. It was sudden, but all she wanted to do now was lay down and sleep.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

He felt better, somehow stronger in his green Arrow costume. He definitely felt better with a bow and arrows on his back. He was grateful that Diggle had it all in a van he'd parked on the side of the road. He was even move grateful that Diggle had remembered the one arrow he needed. It had an explosive head, like the one Laurel had used in a similar situation. Now, if he could only get to her position.

When Oliver walked into Palmer's office as the Arrow, he hadn't expected him to be quite so accommodating.

"What do you need?" Ray asked from behind his desk. He looked pale and there was no smile on his face this time. "All our land moving equipment has already been deployed and I've got a private army coming in from Central City. Every resource we have is available, just name it. Is it something specific or could I-,"

"I need your helicopter. I want you to drop me in the there. These are the coordinates." He handed a piece of paper to Ray.

Ray looked at the paper and then up at Oliver. There was a question in his eyes and Oliver knew what it was.

"That's where your IT girl Felicity Smoak's phone is. With luck, Felicity will be, too."

Ray paled even more, if that was possible. "She's much more than an IT girl," he said and stood up. "But then again, you know that. I'm not stupid. I know she helps you out now and then. Runs traces, that type of thing." He moved out from behind the desk and there was a challenge in his eyes. "Let's go. It's on the roof. I'll pilot."

0000000000000000000000000

Oliver looked down at the devastation below him and wondered how anyone could have survived, but he did and that was enough to give him hope. He had to have hope, because without it... if he knew for sure... if Felicity was... Oliver tapped his earpiece. "I'm going in." He looked back at Ray and gave him the thumbs up before jumping out of the door. It was uneventful and a moment later he was standing on top of the piles of concrete rubble. He unhooked the tether to the helicopter and watched as Ray flew out of sight. He had an hour. Ray would refuel and be back in an hour.

"You're close. Turn to your left," Diggle's voice came through loud and clear. "About three yards and then straight down."

Oliver closed his eyes for a moment. Fear was starting to well in his chest. He moved the three yards and looked down. There was a small crack and Oliver shone a flashlight into it. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the light reflect off of something and that something was Felicity's phone.

"Felicity!" Oliver screamed into the small opening. "Felicity can you hear me?" He waited a beat and called out again. Still no answer, so he started to move the slabs and steel. He needed to get down there. He needed to find her.

Desperation gave him strength as he lifted and moved more than he should have been able to. Adrenaline did that. It gave you super strength and he was glad of it as he picked up and threw anything and everything that was in his way. It was finally worth it, when a larger opening, one he could fit through, was exposed.

"Have you got eyes on?" Diggle asked.

"Only her phone," Oliver replied as he set himself up to climb through the hole. "I'm getting ready to go in."

Diggle sighed. "Be careful. Good luck."

Oliver poised himself for the jump. Eleven feet wasn't that high and he could see the bottom, but... He had to find Felicity. She could be hurt, kept creeping into his thoughts. The, she could be dead, wasn't allowed in, though. He needed to concentrate and bring his A game.

The thought made him fearless, but it also played with his memory. He remembered why he was cautious though, the moment his right foot hit the ground. The pain travelled up his leg and into his hip. It made him fall hard to the ground and he grimace. He tried to control his breathing and ignore it, but it was something else that dulled his nerve ending. The sight of Felicity's unmoving body, only a few feet away.

"Felicity," he said as he dragged himself towards her. His voice was shaking at the sight. "Please," he said out loud as he gathered her up in a sitting position against his chest. "Hey... hey." His heart beat slowed a little when he knew she was breathing. "Okay, that's good." He pulled her in closer. "That's good," he repeated as he wiped the hair from her face and felt her neck. "I'm gonna get you out of here. It's gonna be okay." He hit his earpiece again. "Diggle, I got her. She's alive, but her pulse is really weak."

"Is she conscious?"

"No. She's got head injuries. Must have knocked her out."

"Okay, try to rouse her if you can. She shouldn't be sleeping if she's concussed. Can you get her to the surface? Palmer's ETA is about forty minutes."

Oliver looked up at the hole he'd jumped through. If Felicity was awake she could stand on his shoulders. "Hey!" Oliver patted her cheek. "Felicity you got to wake up. I need your help to get us out of here." He patted harder and shook her head by the chin, but there was no response. He was going to have to get her out, without her help. "Okay," he said as he moved out from under her and gently placed her head on the ground. If he could make the opening larger then Palmer could just winch them both up. Oliver stood and grabbed his bow. With a push of a button it opened out and locked into place. If he could just get the right angle...

Oliver hit his earpiece. "Diggle, she's not waking. Palmer's going to have to winch us both out. I... I can barely stand, I've done something to my ankle, but I can make the opening bigger and he can lower a stretcher to us. Hang on..." He pulled the arrow from its holster and loaded the bow.

"Oliver, stop, wait!"

"What is it?"

"If you're planning on making that opening larger with that explosive tipped arrow, then you gotta find another way."

"Why?" Oliver frowned.

"News is just coming in. There are gas leaks all over that immediate area. They've started to evacuate the surrounding neighbourhood. If you let that go..." He didn't need to finish that sentence.

"Gas leaks?" Oliver immediately started to sniff. "Did that cause the explosion or did the explosion cause the leaks?"

"The chicken or the egg?" Diggle replied. "They don't know yet, but there are bomb squads everywhere, just in case."

"Oh God, Diggle," Oliver knew he sounded scared. "If she's unconscious because of the gas..."

"They call it the silent killer." Diggle's voice was low and full of regret. "But she's breathing on her own, so that's a good thing."

Oliver scrunched his eyes and shook his head in an effort to clear his thinking. "I've got to get her out of here."

"I called Ray; he was already on his way back. ETA seven minutes."

"I'm not sure she's got seven minutes, Diggle," he said and there was bitterness in his voice. He wasn't mad at Diggle, he knew that, but the frustration was building to panic.

"What about you, Oliver?" Diggle asked. "It's often odourless, but can you feel any effects? Drowsiness? Nausea? Are you having any problems breathing?"

"Nausea, but I'm pretty sure I've broken my ankle, probably in more than one place, so I'm not surprised."

"Oliver, Ray's asking for radio contact, I'm going to patch him through."

Before he could respond, he heard a crackle and then Ray was talking. "Hello? Are you there? I... I'm sorry I'm not sure what to call you. They said you found her, Felicity Smoak. Is she okay?"

"She's alive, but we need to move quickly. I've broken my ankle. I was hoping to have her on the surface, but the opening will only allow one person through at a time and I can't make it any wider. You'll have to drop the line directly into the hole."

"Roger that," Ray said. "You should be able to hear me by now."

Oliver listened and sure enough he could hear the distinctive sound of propellers whipping through the air. "You're going to have to get in close enough," Oliver shouted as the Helicopter flew closer and got louder. He could tell when it was directly overhead. "Can you see where I came through?"

"No! The chopper's stirring up too much dust. The camera's no good. I'm going too infrared. By the way, your friend-,"

"Ray, you have to back off, you have to get that helicopter out of here!" Oliver screamed suddenly and there was no mistaking the urgency in his voice. He raised his hand and threw his body over Felicity's as debris and small stones started to fall. One of the beams holding the concrete slabs up shifted and made a loud creak. It was buckling under the weight. "Back off! Back off!" he yelled again. "The whole place is shaking, it's going to collapse!"

Ray responded and the loud whooping sound faded quickly and was replaced by Ray and Diggle's worried enquiries.

"Hey!" Diggle dominated the signal. "Speak to me!"

"Hello, Arrow? Are you there, are you both okay?" Ray spoke next. "Red Hood managed to get down there. Has it stopped shaking?"

"Red Hood?" Oliver frowned for a moment and was then relieved when the ground beneath them stilled.

"It's stopped." He got to his knees and looked down at Felicity. His eyes widened and he couldn't hold back a grin, when she began to cough.

"Hey, hey..." Oliver helped her to sit up and spoke softly as she coughed and hacked and coughed some more. He pulled out a small flask and handed it to her. "Here, take a sip. Slowly."

Felicity's breaths were shallow and her skin was a ghost like pale, but she still managed a small smile. A gesture that went straight to Oliver's heart and he smiled reassuringly as she sipped the water. "You came," she said so softly, he almost didn't hear it.

He touched her cheek with his fingers and looked at her. "Of course I did. I'll always come for you, Felicity. No matter what."

"Oliver? Are you there? Roy's on the surface. You should see a rope any minute."

"Do you realize you just called me by name?" Oliver snapped, acutely aware Ray was also on the feed.

"Ye of little faith. It's okay, he's offline," Diggle explained.

"Oliver, Felicity, can you hear me!" Roy's voice echoed through the space.

000000000000000000000000000

Ray wasn't sure how the guy on the radio or the guy in the Red Hood, fitted into all of this, but he was kind of offended when the radio guy suddenly cut him out of the conversation. "That's no way to treat an ally," Ray muttered to himself. He hit a few switches and a separate dashboard swivelled into place in front of him. He touched the screen and it started a scan. He told it to look for the last know frequency used and it did. A moment later he was, what could only be described as, eavesdropping.

_"Do you realize you just called me by name!" _

"Ye of little faith. It's okay, he's offline."

"Damn it," Ray said out loud. He was disappointed. Curiosity had turned into a need to know. He wanted the Arrows identity the moment he realized that Felicity was working with him.

The radio crackled and then the Red Hood was calling out,_ "...ver, Felicity, can you hear me!" _

"Damn it," Ray said even louder when he missed the first part. He only heard Felicity. Closing his eyes, he took in a breath. Felicity... It hit him then, he was being a jerk. These guys were trying to save her life and he was worried about who they were. It didn't matter who they were for the moment as long as they bought Felicity home.

_"Can you see the rope and harness?" _Red Hood asked.

_"Got it. Give me a minute, I'm sending Felicity up first. She's awake."_

Ray grinned. "Yes!" He punched the air. She was okay.

_"Okay, Roy, she's ready to go."_

Roy? Roy? The Arrow called Red Hood Roy. Ray couldn't help himself, but right now he needed to officially be bought back into the conversation. When the three of them were on the surface, it was his job to get them out of there, without causing a mini-earthquake.

Concentrate, he told himself as he flew closer. The radio guy told him to stand by. He grinned. "Hover-by?" The smile slipped a second later as he came to terms with having people's lives in his hands, again. He'd had two tours of Iraq as a Chopper Pilot, to prepare him for this. This was going to be a piece of cake. He sucked in a breath. "Yeah, right."

"Ray! Ray! Are you there?"

Ray unmuted himself. "Ahh, yes. I'm here. Are they okay? I've got a 50 foot rope ready. Upside, it should be enough that I don't disturb too much. Downside is I won't have absolute control over the ascent. There's quite a variable around wind velocity and weight when you are using that much rope. The swing can be-,"

"You're right," the radio guy interrupted and suddenly sounded concerned. "That swing can be fatal. Ray, you know how to handle that Chopper, right? You've done two stints with the Navy."

How did you know that, ran through Ray's mind, but he bit his tongue. This was clearly a well established and cohesive group. Of course they would have run checks on him. Most likely it would have been Felicity who'd done so. "I've got it handled," he said confidently, even though he didn't feel it. The slightest miscalculation could see them swing into the side of a building.

"We're all on the surface," Red Hood informed. "Felicity's weak, she'll go first."

"It's a double harness, someone should fly with her." Ray hit distance vision on the panel and smiled. This Helicopter had been worth every penny of the 4.2 million he'd paid for it. Probably a steal considering he could now see and hear everything that was going on a mile below him.

"Okay, let's go," Arrow said to Red Hood as he tried to lift the strap of the harness over him.

"No way," Red Hood insisted. "You're hurt. I'll be find here until someone come gets me." He grabbed the harness and placed it over the Arrow's head.

Felicity was leaning heavily against the Arrow as he turned to face her. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to her as Red Hood clicked the final buckle. "Okay, Ray, good to go."

"I'll be back for you before you know it," Ray reassured as he took up the slackness of the rope. "Okay, let's do this."

000000000000000000000000000

"It's going to be okay." Oliver leaned in close and wrapped his arms around Felicity. "Close your eyes and hold on to me." It was loud, but with the chopper three storeys above and their faces so close together, they could hear each other.

Felicity looked at him. She had no other choice, really. They were harnessed together, front to front. There was no looking away. "Are... you sure?" she asked and he noticed the slur her words.

He took a tighter hold of her as she closed her eyes and nuzzled into his neck. "I trust you," she whispered into his ear.

As their feet started to lift into the air, Ray came through on his earpiece.

"Okay, guys, now for the compulsory safety speech. Please ensure all buckles are well fastened and that you keep your hands and legs inside the harness at all times. There's a small side wind of approximately 3.4 miles per hour, which means we're going to have to clear the Rider building, before I can set you down. I've arrange for an ambulance to meet us there. In the mean time, hang back and relax, enjoy the ride. Some people pay hundreds of dollars for this kind of adrenaline rush, you know. Oh... and do your best not to swing around. ETA three minutes and 30 seconds."

Felicity opened her eyes for a moment and immediately went back to her face against his neck. She tensed and shifted in the harness. "I'm scared."

"I know, it's okay. Stay as still as you can. Just stay as relaxed as possible. It'll be over soon." Oliver looked down and watched Roy and the ground disappear in the distance. They were going straight up. "Don't be, scared. Seems your new boyfriend knows what he's doing."

Felicity snapped her head back to look at him. "He's not my new boyfriend."

"I saw you kiss him, you know?" Probably not the best time to disclose such a thing, but he needed 3.5 minutes of distraction.

"He kissed me," she corrected. "Besides, what does it matter to you?"

There was a moment when they stared at each other. Felicity defiant and Oliver pensive. They were high off the ground and about to get higher as they passed over the Rider building. They were tied together, swinging from a rope, from a helicopter, piloted by his competition for her affections. For that moment, though, he couldn't see or feel anything but her.

"It matters to me," he said with more honesty that he knew was there. "A lot."

Felicity sighed. "Well this is a whole different level of 'dangling' maybes, Oliver."

Oliver grinned. He couldn't help it. Even concussed and scared witless, she still managed to joke. Again, not the right time, but he did it anyway. He kissed her, wet and opened mouthed. Every part of his body seemed to relax when she started to kiss him back, but then she stopped suddenly.

"Wait. You're... you're just trying to distract me?" Felicity said, pushing him back.

"Is it working?" he said softly.

"Not quite as well as you shirtless. Now that's a real distracter."

Oliver grinned and watched as the wind blew her hair all over her face. Her lips were dusty and her face dirty, but he couldn't remember her ever looking more beautiful. "Felicity, I lo-,"

"ETA 30 seconds ," Diggle crackled in his earpiece.

Oliver touched the earpiece to activate it, but kept his eyes firmly fixed on Felicity. "Copy that."

"Okay, guys, we're here," Ray chimed in. "Ready?"

"Ready," Oliver responded and drew Felicity to his chest. "I got you."

There was an ambulance in sight and Oliver could see the big makeshift X, that the helicopter was going to land on. He tensed for the impact on his leg, but wasn't totally surprised when their feet hit the ground with feather-light impact. Palmer was clearly a good pilot; he had to give him that.

"We made it," Oliver said as he unbuckled himself and pulled back. He gasped Felicity's name when she went limp in his arms.

The two ambulance officers rushed forward to help, but Oliver already had her out of the harness and on the ground. They all but pushed him out of the way as they started to check her for breathing and examine her injuries.

"She's crashed," the lady Officer said.

"What? No, no, no..." he said more to himself than anyone else, when they started CPR. "She was just talking to me. She was just..."

"I'll get the defibrillator," the guy said and Oliver shook his head. Not after all of this. This wasn't happening.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Oliver was on a gurney waiting for the plaster around his foot to completely set, when Diggle found him. He'd been right. Two broken bones and a compound fracture meant he was out of action for at least 6 weeks. That, of course was the least of his troubles.

"Hey," Diggle said as he walked over. "How you doing?"

"Felicity's in surgery," he stated staring at the ceiling and pretty much ignoring Diggle's enquiry about himself.

"Yeah, I know."

Oliver looked at him this time. "Has there been any word? I've been stuck down here for the last 2 hours getting this thing put on." He gestured to his foot.

Diggle's face changed. It was subtle, but Oliver had seen it before. "You have, haven't you? You know something." He sat up and swung his legs over the side. "What's going on?"

"Look..." Diggle explained. "I haven't heard anything you probably don't already know, but... The nurse said there's a lot of internal bleeding and..."

Oliver's eyes widened. "Diggle?"

Diggle shrugged. "... and we should expect a long wait."

Oliver felt hot tears well up in his eyes. "She seemed fine. I was talking to her, John." Oliver looked at his friend with shear confusion in his eyes. "I kissed her. I was about to tell her I loved her, but-,"

"Well hello there," Palmer said he entered the room. "How's the leg?" He still looked drawn, but his customary smile had returned to his face.

"...but HE interrupted," Oliver said under his breath.

"I just came to see how you were. I couldn't believe it when I heard you'd been caught up in the blast, too. I also wanted to let you know that you can be assured Felicity is in the best of hands. Dr. Crosby has arrived and is scrubbing in as we speak."

Oliver frowned. He had no idea what Palmer was talking about.

"Dr. Grant Crosby?" Diggle seemed to know. "From Metropolis?"

"Yes. That's the one. I had him flown in the moment I found out that..." Ray stopped mid sentence and they could see him just trying to breathe. "I'm sorry. It's just she means a great deal to me."

Diggle raised an eyebrow when his phone rang. "Sorry... Excuse me."

"Us, too." Oliver looked at Palmer and there was a challenge on his face. "She means a great deal to us, too."

0000000000000000000000000000000

Ray sighed. It took everything in him not to say something, but this ex billionaire playboy turned vigilante, clearly did care about Felicity. "I know you do," he said softly. "I just wanted to let you know." He started to walk away when Oliver spoke.

"Ray?" Oliver stepped off the gurney and hobbled towards him. "Thank you. I... I heard about everything you did to save her and I'm grateful." He held out his hand and Ray took it.

"Thank you, too," Slipped through Ray's lips. This man had literally pulled her from the wreckage.

"I didn't do anything, except get my foot broken." Oliver grinned.

Ray just nodded. He still had hold of Oliver's hand and he let go. "I'll check in later," he said as a way of awkward departure. He would analyse the dynamics of it all a little later. Right now though, he and Oliver had had a moment. Bonded in a common appreciation for the life saved. That was good. He needed Oliver's alliance.

Yes he knew Oliver was the Arrow. Felicity had said his name, twice. It all made perfect sense, now. He hadn't needed radio contact. All he had to do was face a beam directly below him and he could hear every word. Now was not the time to ponder on it too heavily, though. First he needed to be sure Felicity was okay. From what he'd found out, they were still trying to stop the bleeds.

It was going to be a long night.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes:** First of all, I'd like to say thank you so very much to all of you who are following this story. I feel so humbled. I had no idea this fandom was so strong. This story was only going to be 2 parts, but it kind of grew a plot and I've had to extend it to 3 chapters. Hope you enjoy the ride. Again... thank you so much for reading.

**FIFTY FEET SOUTH: CHAPTER TWO**

"Oliver?" Diggle said, but he needed to say it again to really distract him from his thoughts. "Oliver!"

He was sitting at Felicity's computer. The lights were so low he may as well have been sitting there in the dark.

He blinked and allowed his pupils to adjust when Diggle turned the lights up. "What are you doing, Man? How long has it been since you've slept?" Diggle sniffed. "Or showered for that matter?"

"Oh I don't know, Diggle," Oliver replied, pure sarcasm. "Guess that would be just over two days, or, you know... since the woman I love was put into a coma."

"Oliv-,"

"Don't!" Oliver held up a hand. "Unless you've got an update, other than she's resting comfortably, I don't want to hear it, okay." It wasn't a question.

Diggle crossed his arms. "Actually... I just wanted to let you know that Mrs. Smoak was finally able to get a flight. She's already in the air, should be here in a few hours."

Oliver nodded. Great... that was just great. It's not that he didn't like Donna, he did, but she would want every detail and he couldn't blame her. He'd been entrusted with her daughter's wellbeing and he had let her down. It was just... He'd spent the last two days trying not to replay those last few minutes with her, in his head. The violent pushing on her chest and the paddles shocking her back to life. The Ambulance ride and watching them have to shock her again. How had she even woken up from all those injuries?

Oliver sighed heavily. He was lost in a whirlwind of self doubt, self loathing and pain. "I kissed her, Diggle. She was all broken up inside and what was I doing? I was kissing her like I was James Bond or something." He frowned deeply in an effort to stop the tears.

"Oliver, Felicity's injuries are not your fault," Diggle stated firmly. "It's looking more and more, like the bomb was targeting the gas lines, which means whoever did this, was planning on taking out all of Starling City. They're lucky they deactivated the second bomb."

Bomb? Oliver couldn't even remember if he'd been told that was confirmed. He certainly didn't know they had disarmed another. Two days and he'd totally lost touch with the city he promised to protect. Oliver laughed softly.

"What's so funny?" Diggle asked as he wheeled a chair over and sat in front of him.

"It's true and I guess it took this for me to realize something."

"What's that?" Diggle asked. He looked worried.

Oliver grinned. It wasn't a genuine smile, more of a cover-up. He was about to put it all out there. At least to Diggle.

"Apart from obviously wanting her to be okay," he began. "Make a full recovery. I've been sitting here thinking about..." He sighed again, still not quite sure on how to formulate the words. "...about the last few weeks and how I've been off my game. About what it did to me to see Felicity kiss Palmer."

Diggle's eyes widened. "You saw that?"

Oliver nodded. "I walked up to her office door and she was kissing him."

"Maybe he was kissing her?"

Oliver laughed, genuine, this time. "That's what she said." He let himself meet Diggle's eyes, directly and the smile slipped. "Whether it's because she's with Palmer or because she's..." He paused and thought of the right word. "...hurt. It makes no difference. I am useless at protecting this city without her and as soon as she's well, I'm gonna make sure she knows that."

Diggle sat up straighter in his chair and smiled. "That's cool, man. It really is, because this city needs the Arrow and you need Felicity."

"Do you think she'll forgive me for pushing her away?" Oliver suddenly felt all kinds of insecure. "I mean, she really does like Palmer and-,"

"She's in love with you, Oliver. Just as much as you are with her. You know that."

"Thing is..." Oliver looked at his friend and couldn't mask the concern. "I still don't know what I can promise her."

"Baby steps, man. Telling her is a good start."

Oliver stood up.

Diggle frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going back to the hospital. I need to be there when Donna arrives."

Diggle called out to him as he walked up the stairs. "You know, Oliver. Some people say when you're in a coma, you can hear things. Some even say that it's been hearing their loved ones voices that have brought them back. I mean, I know it's induced, but..."

Oliver thought about that for a second and paused. He didn't look back at Diggle, he didn't need to. "Thanks," he said and his voice betrayed his emotion. "I'll keep that in mind."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Oliver didn't know why he was surprised to see Ray sitting beside her, when he arrived at the hospital. The man looked worn out and had thick stubble over his face. He'd obviously done what Oliver couldn't. He'd kept a bedside vigil. Part of him wanted to yell, bust into the room and tell Ray to let go of her hand. The other part just wanted to hug the man for not leaving her alone.

He creaked open the door and was about to alert Ray to his presence, but he could hear Ray talking, so he froze.

"And they've got big sunsets, over the oceans. Oh my, Felicity, the oceans are like the 8th wonder of the universe. They're so blue... and clear." Ray coughed. "I'm gonna take you there one day. Promise."

Ray sounded hoarse and Oliver wondered if he'd been sitting there talking to her like that this whole time. He opened the door further, making sure it creaked louder.

Ray looked up at him and immediately stood. "Oh, Oliver. Hi."

Oliver moved further into the room and nodded to Ray as a way of greeting. He walked to the bed and looked down at Felicity. "I know she's doing better, but is there any other news?"

Ray smiled. "Ahh, yes, actually. First is that Mrs. Smoak is on her way and second is really good news."

Oliver turned to look at him. "And what's that?"

"If things stay the same, they're going to bring her out of the coma later today."

"Really?" He couldn't hide his enthusiasm.

Ray smiled again and nodded. "Yes. Exciting news." He looked at Oliver and Oliver could tell there was something more on his mind. There was a question in his eyes, but he didn't ask it.

"Anyhow, look..." Ray took in a deep breath. "If you're going to be here for a while, I might go home and shower. Grab something to eat."

Oliver nodded. Ray had been there this whole time. "Of course. I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon," he added when Ray hesitated.

"Okay, I'll be back. It's scheduled for 5 PM."

Oliver wanted to make some sort of remark about Arnold Schwarzenegger, but looked at his watch instead. 1:44PM. "Just over three hours," he mumbled to himself and sighed. He was doing a lot of that lately. He tried to focus on her eyes and the curve of her cheek as he sat down beside her. He had to admit, she looked a lot better than when he'd last seen her. Most of the swelling had gone down. The tubes and the monitors had looked and sounded so invasive that first time. Now they only bleeped occasionally in the background. Today she looked... almost peaceful.

Oliver closed his eyes. He was suddenly so very tired. The adrenaline he'd been running on since waking up from the blast was starting to peter off. As he breathed in and out the bleeping of Felicity's heart monitor became rhythmic and almost soothing. Before he knew it, over an hour had passed. Lost in his thoughts, he still hadn't said a word out loud.

"You know, Felicity," he said softly as he reached out and took her hand. "Diggle says that people in comas can sometimes hear." He squeezed her hand a little. "Seems Ray's been in here chewing your ear off, huh?" He let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that. Not being here, I mean." He shifted his chair a little closer and lowered his chin to rest on their entwined hands. "You know, I nearly lost you before, but... but this just freaked me out."

Oliver turned his cheek to rest against her hand. It felt nice, her soft skin against his face. "I mean... I'm going to say all of this again when you're awake and can answer back and ahh... I'm sure you'll have quite a bit to say about how I've handled all of this." Oliver smiled sadly. "But... Felicity, you have to give me some time, okay? I don't know how it's going to work, but I do know I gotta try. I once told someone that guys like us don't get the girl, but I have to change my mind on that. I can't function without you and I certainly can't stand the idea of-,"

"Oh my God," Donna squealed as she burst through the hospital room door. "My little girl. Oh my little girl." She ran over and put her head to Felicity's chest.

Oliver moved out of the way to accommodate her and stood silently as she sobbed and fussed over her daughter.

"What exactly happened?" She looked across at Oliver, tears filling her eyes.

"They didn't tell you?" Oliver was surprised. "There was a bomb and she was in the building at the time."

"Yes, yes," Donna said impatiently. "I know there was a bomb, it's been all over the news, but the Arrow had to go in and rescue her from underground. I tell you, he's got a thing for her, always showing up when she's in trouble."

Just out of reflex, Oliver grinned. "Maybe he does."

"And that other one, her boss," Donna continued. She clicked her fingers and looked vague.

"Ray Palmer?"

"Yeah, him. He flew the Helicopter that saved her. Isn't that amazing?"

Oliver lifted an eyebrow.

"And apparently he kissed her."

Oliver did a double take. "Ray?"

"No, the man in the green hood. Right there, hanging in mid-air."

"How did-,"

"It hit the news about an hour ago. Someone filmed him and Felicity being lifted out of the rubble." Donna turned back to Felicity. "She looked so scared."

Oliver cringed inwardly and wondered how close the camera had actually zoomed. He was so going to live to regret that kiss. "They showed him kissing her on the news?"

"Not yet. They just teased it. It's going to be on the Late Show. I've got Silvia, my next door neighbour recording it for me. I'll give you a copy."

"Great," Oliver mumbled. "Umm... so just curious. Can we finally figure out who the Arrow is?"

Donna shook her head. "No such luck. All you see is his back, but you can see Felicity's face." A tear welled in her eye. "She looked scared."

"I think," he began and then stopped. He wanted to offer some sort of comfort, tell her Felicity wasn't as terrified as she might think, but didn't quite know how. He couldn't exactly say he was the one holding her in his arms.

Donna looked at him to keep going. "You think what?"

"Umm... Doesn't really matter." Oliver tried for distraction. "Did you know they're bringing her out of the coma later today?"

Donna wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yes. They got me to sign some papers as soon as I arrived."

There was a brief knock at the door before it swung open. "Good afternoon," the Nurse said with a huge smile. "I'm Nurse Kindle, but you can call me KK. That's on account that my first name is Kelly. Yeah, Kelly Kindle. I know, what were my parents thinking, right?" She moved around the bed and checked Felicity's pulse. She pulled out a pencil flashlight and pulled back the lid of Felicity's eye. "I understand she's waking up today," KK said as she checked the other eye.

"Yes, we hope so," Donna responded.

"Don't worry. From all the tests, we can tell she's healing really well. Her blood cell counts have even returned to normal." KK moved to the end of the bed and picked up the clipboard. "I think we can safely say she is well and truly off the critical list."

Oliver looked at KK as she wrote the case notes. Clearly not much older than mid-twenties, she had a kind of charm about her. She spoke fast and seemed a little 'airy'. Also as clear, was her intellect. Oliver smiled softly. Kind of like someone else they all knew.

Donna nodded. "Thank God."

KK's smile widened. "Actually you should be thanking that hood guy and that billionaire Ray Palmer. I saw it on the news. They rescued your daughter."

Oliver really had to resist doing a complete eye-roll, along with a frustrated sigh.

"Yes I know," Donna said placing a hand on the Nurse's forearm. "I saw it, too and believe me I will be letting them know how grateful I am."

"The Arrow," Oliver chimed in. "The hood... he's not called that anymore. He's called the Arrow, now." Oliver scratched the back of his head. "Just saying."

The woman nodded, but it seemed incidental information. They went back to discussing the upcoming footage of 'the kiss' on the late show.

Oh boy, Oliver thought to himself. He was pleased when the phone rang and it was Diggle. "Excuse me ladies. I just need to take this." Truth be told, Oliver was glad of an excuse to get out of the room. He'd only been sitting there for an hour or two. How had Palmer coped for two full days?

"What's up?" Oliver asked as descended the staircase.

"How is she, any change?"

"She's doing well. They're going to bring her out of the coma soon."

"That's great," Diggle said and there was genuine relief in his voice. "Having said that, though... You should know that you and Felicity have been all over the morning news."

"I'm aware," Oliver said with a certain amount of distaste.

"Roy was able to break the footage down. Even if they enhance, there's no shot of your face."

"I heard that, too. Donna's here."

"Right." Diggle took in a loud breath. "Then you also know they're doing a feature on the tonight show."

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Yep. Apparently Donna's next door neighbour is recording it for us."

Diggle let out a half snort, half giggle. "Really?"

"This is serious, John."

"It's okay, you can only see Felicity."

"Well that's bad enough," Oliver snapped. "You can be sure the press are gonna want to speak to her."

"Well people are curious about you, Oliver."

Oliver shook his head and distracted himself by looking at his watch. 4:49pm. "Crap. I didn't realize it was this late. I've got to get back upstairs."

"Okay, ahh... Oliver... Felicity is going to be okay. She's pretty resilient. You give her our love when she wakes up, okay?"

"Will do," Oliver said and then hit end on the keypad.

As he took the stairs to the fifth floor two by two, he wondered if Ray would have returned by now. He was answered the moment he stepped out of the stairwell. Ray was walking up the hallway towards Felicity's room. He looked better than a few hours ago. It was amazing what a shower, shave and a change of clothes could do. He was holding a large bouquet of flowers and Oliver kicked himself for not thinking about something like that. He was never gonna get the girl if he didn't.

"Oh, hi, Oliver," Ray said as they both reached the door at the same time.

Oliver didn't get to reply, before the door swung open and KK emerged.

"Hi, I'm sorry," she said blocking their path. "but it's only family at this point." She smiled reassuringly at them both. "Dr. Grace is just prepping her now. You can go in when he's done. Oh," she said and looked at Ray. "I'm really sorry Mr. Palmer, but Felicity won't be able to have flowers in her room, just yet. If you like I can give them to the nurses' station and they can put them in water. Maybe a day or so."

"Oh, right." Ray looked a little embarrassed. "Silly me, I should have thought." He handed her the flowers. "Umm, yes, thank you."

KK took the flowers and headed down the corridor. They both watched her go and then there was silence. One beat, two beats. "So, ah..." Oliver was the first to speak. "Mrs. Smoak arrived a couple of hours back."

"Yes, lovely woman. I didn't know she was having problems booking a flight or I would have sent the jet for her."

Surprise showed on Oliver's face, briefly, before he remembered. "That's right, I forgot. You met Donna when she was last here. You gave her that watch." He suddenly felt a strong sense of gratefulness. If it weren't for him, Felicity and Donna wouldn't be here.

"That's right," Ray said. "We're calling them Wearables. I gave her a prototype of the new range. Felicity said that her mom appreciated it more than I could understand. I couldn't quite under-,"

"Excuse me gentleman," KK said as she moved passed them to re-enter the room. "Shouldn't be too much longer, I'll come get you." She closed the door, but it opened again a moment later. "Actually, we're ready to go."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Felicity was hooked up to more machines than when he'd left the room and he hoped that it was all just a precaution. A heart monitor, a brain scanner and an oxygen mask. There was still a drip in her hand and they watched as the doctor syringed a yellow looking liquid into the bag. It travelled down the tube and seemed to take forever to reach the port.

"The drug should take effect almost immediately," Dr. Grace explained. "We should see some spiking in brainwave activity, first." As if on cue there was a bleep. "Ah, there we go," the doctor continued, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're doing well, Felicity."

Donna was sitting right beside her head as the doctor worked. Ray and Oliver stood unobtrusively at the end of the bed.

"Oh, look," Donna half sobbed, half squealed. "Her eyes are fluttering."

Oliver took in a deep breath. The rush of relief that ran over him made him feel almost euphoric. "Thank you," he whispered out when her eyes opened fully.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Felicity sat herself up straighter in the bed and flipped the channels on the TV. It had been two weeks and even though the hospital room was beautiful, it still felt like a bit of a prison. She was waiting for the results of her latest MRI. They'd promised her she could go home if it came back clear.

There were flowers, in every nook and cranny of the room and she wondered how many of them she could fit into her apartment. The nurses had run out of vases and she'd had to ask Ray to stop sending them. He was the biggest offender. He'd sent massive bunches every day she'd been there. Her mom, Barry, Oliver and a few others had contributed, but Ray was over the top. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or suffocated.

As she laid there waiting, she couldn't help it, her mind started searching again. Could there really be something seriously wrong with her, or was this normal for an ex-coma patient. "I should know," she said out loud as she battled her doubt. "I really should."

"You should know what?" Oliver asked as he walked through the door.

"Hi, Oliver," she said rather meekly as she forced herself to look him in the eyes.

Oliver frowned and moved closer to the bed. "What is it, Felicity?"

"I should have told you before this, maybe, but... There's gaps..." she started, but then stopped. This was worrying her and she needed to say something, but she didn't want to jeopardize being released. She squinted a little without her glasses on and looked seriously at Oliver. "You know, Oliver if I don't go home today, I'm signing myself out, AMA."

"What? No you're not," Oliver said a little too dismissively for her liking. "What do you mean there's gaps?"

"In my memory. I mean I remember all of the stuff after the explosion, but Captain Lance came to see me a couple of days ago. He asked me why I was in that building..." She felt like crying.

"What were you doing in that building, Felicity? Do you remember calling me?"

Felicity bought her hand to her chest in a protective mannerism. "I called you? What did I say?"

"That you needed me to meet you at the Krystal Building, straight away."

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Frustration dripped from every word.

Oliver's eyes squinted. "I didn't know I needed to."

"This doesn't make any sense." Felicity looked up at him. She could feel the wet tears leak from her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "Why can't I remember that?"

Oliver looked at her and there was clearly something going on in his head. She knew him well enough to know that he was making connections. Maybe the same type of connections that she was making.

"What are you thinking?" she asked as he handed her a tissue. "That this has something to do with the bombing?" She blew her nose and then realised how that must have looked. She knew it sounded like a foghorn, but when her eyes met Oliver's he was grinning.

"I think all of this is best left for another time. Right now your health is more important."

"I'm fine, Oliver, really." She pulled the covers back to reveal her full leg brace. "My hip is mending and I can use crutches. There is no reason for me not to go home."

"Except for the fact that you can't remember things. What does the Doctor say about all this?"

Felicity closed one eye. "Well... I haven't actually... you know... said anything, but It doesn't matter. I just want-,"

There was a knock at the door and Dr Grace entered the room. Felicity was relieved when he smiled. "Yes, all clear and I am happy to say that the paperwork for your release is being finalized as we speak. We are still a little concerned about the dizzy spell you suffered the other day, but the MRI is completely clear, so..."

Oliver shot her a look and mouthed, 'dizzy spell?' "Ahh, I'm not sure," Oliver began, but Felicity stepped in front of him and drew all of the doctor's attention.

"I am so soooooo happy to hear that, Doctor."

Dr. Grace looked over at Oliver and smiled. "Will you be taking her home, Mr. Queen?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Okay great. There are prescriptions to pick up at the Nurses Station and clearly she will need lots of bed rest. She can use her crutches, but only when necessary, bathroom, that sort of thing. She'll need to arrange for someone to change her dressings. One of them is on her back so she won't be able to do it herself. I will send it all over, so you can follow it up with her local GP. She'll probably need some Physio as well." The doctor looked back to her. "And clearly you won't be able to drive until that splint comes off."

Felicity's brow furrowed slightly. She wasn't certain if it was because of the no drive thing, or the fact that Dr. Grace basically just informed Oliver of her aftercare instead of her. "Great," she said, biting her lip.

"Okay, then, Felicity, I will leave you to it. Take care and good luck." Dr. Grace started to leave, but Oliver stopped him.

"Sorry, but... Is there anything I should look out for?"

"Predominantly dizzy spells, disorientation, vomiting, mood swings, that sort of thing. It's all very unlikely, but you never know with head trauma. There is actually a copy of things to watch out for at the nurse's station."

Oliver nodded. "Okay, thanks, Doctor."

The moment Dr. Grace left Oliver immediately turned cold eyes on her. "Felicity?" he said, equal weight concern and anger.

"I am going home. End of story, Oliver." She matched his stare.

"Then I'm going home with you."

Felicity shook her head. "Aren't you supposed to be tracking down the bomber that did all this? I don't need babysitting."

Oliver's face changed at the question and Felicity was sorry that she'd asked it, but she didn't need to be wrapped up in cottonwool.

"Kind of hard to be stealthy with plaster on. Besides, Diggle's got it covered,"

Felicity felt herself blush. Oliver was always in jeans and walking unaided. She'd all but forgotten about his broken ankle.

"You get dressed and I'll see where they are with your release papers."

"No Oliver, I-,"

Oliver turned back and looked at her, his face a mask of resolution. He didn't say a word, but it was enough to get Felicity to stop mid sentence. He just stared at her and she knew, no amount of hawking was going to win her this argument. Oliver had a bee in his bonnet about this.

She gave him a small nod. "Okay," she said with resignation in her tone. "But no hot and sweaty workouts in my living room, Okay?"

A half grin creped onto Oliver's face. "Deal."

It looked as though she was going to have Oliver Queen as a house guest for at least a couple of weeks.

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Notes:** First of all I just want to say sorry it's taken me so long to finish this. I also want to thank every single reader. The people following and reviewing this story has been overwhelming and I appreciate it so much.

But as this journey comes to an end, I hope to be writing many more Arrow and Olicity stories. As some of you will find out , if you read any of my 'future' stories, I try to stay as close to cannon as possible. Unfortunately cannon through me a curveball (a big one) and I needed to squeeze this fic in between 3.07 and 3.09. Hence **SPOILER** for episode 3.09 at the very end.

Please let me know if you enjoyed Fifty Feet South, as it was my first work in the Arrow fandom. All love and critique, welcomed. *hugs* Z.

**000000000000000**

Oliver grinned to himself when he looked through the peephole. He had just had a shower and Felicity was still sleeping. He only had a towel around his waist, but that was even better.

He opened the door and pretended to be surprised. "Oh, Ray, they for me?"

Ray raised an eyebrow and looked just as surprised. He glanced over Oliver's shoulder. "No, actually, they're for Felicity. Is she in?"

"Ah, yeah, of course. Come in. We had kind of a long night, she's still sleeping."

Ray looked at him and the question was clearly in his eyes. It wasn't until he saw the pillow and the crumbled blankets on the couch, that he smiled and Oliver knew the moment had passed.

"Ray?" Felicity said as she hobbled out of the bedroom doing up her robe.

"You should be using your crutches."

"Shouldn't you be using your crutches?"

Oliver and Ray both spoke simultaneously.

Felicity looked from one to the other and shook her head. "I just heard voices."

"Oh, yes, sorry," Ray chimed in. "I just wanted to stop by and bring you these. See... chocolates, not flowers, I do listen."

Felicity smiled as she took the box from Ray. "My favourite. How did you-,"

"I pay attention."

Oliver excused himself. He needed to get dressed, but more so, he needed to not see Felicity look at another man like that.

"I pay attention," Oliver mocked as he pulled his jeans on. "Damn it!" He sat down on the toilet seat to hitch the bottom of the pants over his cast. He was so sick of it.

He had bought Felicity back the day before and they'd spent the night making small talk. He didn't want to bring up the phone call and the bomb just yet, although he knew she was pondering on it.

He walked out of the bathroom shirtless and enjoyed the look on Felicity's face. It was only brief, but he caught it. He had every intention of using whatever it took to win Felicity over.

"So," Ray asked. "How long are you in that thing for?" He motioned to Oliver's cast.

"Another two or so weeks."

"Right." Ray nodded and turned back to Felicity. "Anyhow, I better get back. Just wanted to see you up and about." He smiled at her and she smiled back. There was a moment, a second really where they connected and Oliver felt his stomach turn.

Ray kissed her on the cheek and moved towards the door. "Let me know if you need anything, okay? Anything at all."

Felicity's smile widened. "Will do."

He turned to Oliver and again, there was something in his eyes. It wasn't a question this time, but he did seem concerned about Oliver's ankle. "Look after that ankle. Keep it elevated if you can. Good circulation will improve recovery time."

Oliver nodded politely. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Ray closed the door to Felicity's apartment and unconsciously nodded his head. He should have put two and two together straight away, but seeing Oliver in the knee high plaster, jolted his perception. It was no wonder that crime statistics had spiked since the blast. The person, who helped keep it down, was out of action with an ankle injury.

As he rode down in the elevator it occurred to him just how much the Arrow had done for the city. Something he hoped to mirror in the not so distant future. The guy had done more good than harm, even if he was a killer. Killer... That was the something that Ray, couldn't quite get past. There was no doubt, regardless of the police's amnesty and despite his hero status that the man had murdered. Ray took in a calming breath, because he had to be truthful and compare himself. He knew that if given a chance to kill the man who'd snapped Anna's neck, he'd take it. Was he any different?

By the time Ray walked to his car, he was thinking about his time in the service. Was what the Arrow did, any worse than bombing villages just because the enemy had built military bases there? On mass or one by one, they were casualties of war. At least with Oliver's war, he could be certain that only the 'bad' guys died. Ray hadn't had that luxury.

He came to the conclusion, somewhere along the freeway, that he admired the Arrow. He even quite liked Oliver. Ray grinned to himself the moment that thought occurred. He was seeing them as two different entities. In a way, he thought, they were. If it weren't for the high tech gadgets on his helicopter, he would never have been able to confirm the Arrow as Oliver. And if truth be known, he'd made the mistake of believing the Oliver Queen playboy persona. It was the reason he could never bring himself to believe that Oliver was the vigilante.

Ray smiled to himself, as he reversed the car into his parking bay. He'd made up his mind. The drive had been a thoughtful one and he made a mental note to take the helicopter less often. It had given him time to have a couple of epiphanies that he may very well not have had.

The first was that the Arrow was not his enemy. Oliver on the other hand, was. He would not see him as a hero. He was just a man. More importantly, he was a rival and someone Ray intended to conquer.

The second epiphany was that Felicity was definitely worth fighting for.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Felicity sat at the kitchen table and watched Oliver do the brunch dishes. It was kind of cute, the way he splashed around in the soapy water.

They'd spent the night talking about different things. He'd disclosed some things about his time in China and she'd shared memories about growing up as a rebel genius. It was a pleasant enough night, but Oliver had avoided any work topic and she knew why.

"Oliver?"

"Hmm?" He didn't turn from the sink.

"I want you to do for me what you did for Roy."

Oliver placed the last dish into the rack and wiped his hands on the tea-towel. "What do you mean?"

"I need to remember why I called you and I need to know why I was in the Krystal Building."

Oliver nodded, but she could tell he wasn't happy. "Maybe when you're fully recovered we could try it."

"Fully recovered my butt. Why not now?"

"And what a nice butt it is, too." Oliver grinned cheekily.

"Oliver, I'm serious."

Oliver's grin widened. "So am I."

Felicity bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh. "This is important, I need to remember. It might have something to do with the bombing."

"I doubt it," Oliver said. "Diggle called; apparently they have a 'person of interest', one Mario Gruller. Name ring any bells? Originally from Mexico."

Felicity made a face as she thought about it. She knew she was making it by the way Oliver was staring. "Nope, can't say that it does. But that's exactly why I need to remember. What if I do know him and-,"

"Felicity..." Oliver moved to the table and sat down opposite her. "This guy is mixed up in some sort of conspiracy. It has something to do mining rights."

Felicity frowned. "Mining rights?"

"Apparently. Mean anything to you?"

Felicity pouted and shook her head. "No," she sighed.

Oliver knew she was manipulating him, but she also knew it would work.

"Okay... If you really want to try this, I'll need to go back to the Lair and get a few things."

Felicity face lit up. "Don't you mean the 'Arrow Cave'?"

Oliver laughed and postured as if he hated it, but she knew he didn't. He stood up and offered her a hand.

She took his hand, but still over balanced, leaving Oliver to take most of her weight for a moment. She really did need the crutches he offered her. As she placed each one under her arms, she had a thought. "Oliver? How did you keep your plaster dry in the shower?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow and looked down at her full brace. "Umm... a garbage bag, but I think it's going to be a little more complicated for you."

Felicity furrowed her brow. "I don't think I can be trusted not to fall in a shower. I'll have to settle for a bath."

Oliver smiled. "Even that's going to be difficult."

"Nah, it'll be fine. You go to the Arrow Cave and get what you need. I'll be ready when you get back."

Oliver looked at her sceptically. "Okay, I won't be too long."

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Oliver knocked on the door to Felicity's apartment for the second time. In hindsight it would have been smarter just to take a key. The knapsack over his shoulder seemed to gain weight as he stood there. He knocked again and then froze.

_"Oliver!"_

It was faint, hard to hear through the door, but Oliver did. He dropped the knapsack and banged on the door. "Felicity?"

"_Oliver, help!"_

That was all it took. From Oliver to the Arrow in a split second as he kicked the door open and ran in. "Felicity?" he yelled.

"Help!"

Oliver ran to the bathroom and threw open the door. "Oh, god," Oliver said in a low tone. He rushed forward, initially pulling the plug from the bathtub and then supporting Felicity to sit up. "What on earth happened?"

Felicity was breathless, probably from the stress of keeping her head above the bath water. "I thought if I just rested my leg on the outside I could have a shallow bath and still be able to wash my hair, but..." She took in a couple of deep breaths. "I guess I didn't anticipate the weight and when I laid back I slipped further down and..."

"And you got stuck." Oliver looked sympathetically at her. He grabbed two towels from the rack and put them over her.

"I couldn't reach the plug to let the water out, so I all I could do was wait." A tear welled in her eye.

"Well I'm glad you settled on a shallow bath. Must have been scary." Oliver moved to place one leg in the tub.

"What are you doing?" Felicity asked as she tucked and fussed with the towels around her. They were wet and heavy.

"I don't want to drop you. Centre of gravity," he explained as he bobbed down and placed one hand under her knees and the around her shoulders. "Ready?" He smiled. "Hold on tight." He lifted and pulled her completely into his arms. He carried her from the bath to the bedroom and lowered her to the bed. "I'll let you get dressed and see what I can do about your door."

"What's wrong with my door?"

"I heard you scream for help. I didn't exactly have time to just pick the lock."

"Oh..." Felicity nodded. "Maybe I should have given you a key."

Oliver smiled. "Yeah... or maybe next time you need a bath, I don't go anywhere."

**000000000000000000000000000000**

There was a lovely smell in the air when Felicity came out of her bedroom. She was using her crutches, because she knew she'd hear about if she didn't. She smiled as she entered her living room. The shades were shut and the room was lit by four white candles. They were in the corners of the room and Oliver was lighting the last one as she came in. He'd moved the couches and the coffee table, to make space. In the centre of the room there was a bowl with incense burning. There was also a small silver goblet.

"Can you sit on the floor?"

Felicity furrowed her brow. "I know I can get down there, but I'm not so sure about getting back up."

Oliver smiled. "I think I've got that covered."

Felicity moved to the middle and used the crutches to help her descent. She still landed on her butt with a bit of a jolt and she made a face as the pain rippled up to her hip.

"You okay?" He took the crutches and placed them against the wall.

She held up a hand and took in a calming breath. "I'm fine. Just a pride thing."

Oliver sat down cross-legged opposite her. He handed her the goblet. "Drink."

She took it and brought it to her nose and sniffed. "What is it? "Smells terrible."

"It's a Chinese herb. It will help to relax you and free the conscious mind."

"Oh." Felicity lowered the goblet. Her eyes were a dead giveaway and she knew it. This might not be a good thing. "When you say, free the conscious mind, ahh, does that mean, like... will I have any control over what comes out of my mouth?" There were things she preferred to hide, even from Oliver. Truth be known, especially from Oliver.

"Do you trust me, Felicity?" Oliver's tone was quiet, but serious. He was looking at her and he really expected an answer.

"With my life," she answered simply.

"Then don't worry." He gestured for her to drink.

"Down the hatch," she said and then swallowed the bitter liquid like it was a shot. She resisted the urge to slam the goblet down and settled for putting it to the side. She looked at Oliver and shrugged. "I don't feel anything."

"Close your eyes," Oliver instructed. "I want you to listen to my voice. Let's start by breathing in and out slowly. In... Out" She could hear Oliver breathing with her. "In slowly... listening to my voice."

Felicity didn't really need encouragement to listen to Oliver. As he spoke and her muscles relaxed with every exhaled breath, Felicity honed in on his words.

"It's a Friday. You're working in your office," he started. "Something has sparked your interest or you've been asked to go to the Krystal Building for some reason. It's within walking distance and it's a nice day, so you walk the two blocks."

Felicity concentrated the best that she could. The drug, or the herb, or whatever it was, made her a little drowsy. She could picture the scenario that Oliver was coaxing out of her, but some of it felt more real.

"Andrew came in."

"Who's Andrew?"

Andrew White. He works in the mail room. I'd been waiting on some paperwork and he bought them up for me. "

"You're doing great, Felicity." Oliver praised in a low monotone voice. "Then what?"

Felicity blinked and opened her eyes.

Oliver looked intense as he sat across from her. "Go back to your breathing. Close your eyes. Listen to the sound of my voice."

Felicity did as she was told and tried to establish a breathing pattern. It helped, as other images started to flood her mind.

"What were you doing when Andrew came in?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"_Bingo," Felicity said as she hit enter on her computer. She picked up a pen and jotted down the unscrambled data. "I love breaking codes," she muttered to herself._

_There was a knock on her door and she smiled when she saw Andrew. He had a package in his hand and if she wasn't mistaken, it would be the data she'd been asking them to look for, all week. She sighed. Why people still insisted on using paper was beyond her. _

_Andrew's face was solemn as he approached her. He handed the package to her and she smiled up at him. _

"_Thank you, Andrew. I've been waiting on these. I hope."_

_Andrew nodded and started to walk away. He stopped, hesitated and then turned around to face her. "Are those about the Gardner Labs? Are we really going to start all of that again?"_

_Felicity frowned. "All of what, again?" _

"_The mining and the production of that alloy."_

"_How do you know about that?" Felicity asked. She was genuinely surprised. _

_Andrew looked down at his shoes. "It's no secret," he mombled._

"_You think the alloy is dangerous?"_

_Andrew shrugged. "Doesn't matter what I think. Never has." _

_Felicity furrowed her brow and wondered what that was all about as she reached for the package. "As a matter of fact," she mumbled to herself, more than Andrew. "That's exactly what I am researching." She opened the papers inside of the package and sighed. It wasn't the documents she was hoping for. "Damn." There was no getting around it. She would need to go and find the report herself. _

_Felicity stood up from behind her desk and removed her glasses. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to find this report. When Ray had shown her the suit and told her what it was made of, she just had to snoop, she couldn't help it. It was in her nature. Now, she kind of wished she hadn't. Finding anything on the Dwarf-Star Alloy, was proving to be hard, almost impossible. What she did find out was that mining for the substance had ceased several years earlier, due to 'concerns'. The only reference to any study that named those concerns was in the lab archives._

"_I am going over to the Krystal building now and when I get back I want to talk to you. I want to know everything you know about the alloy."_

_Andrew's complexion changed and he looked at his watch. "Why are you going there?"_

"_There is a report from a Dr. James, that might just confirm what you are saying." _

"_And if it does?" Andrew asked. "Will you stop it? Make sure they don't mine or use the alloy?" _

"_How do you know about any of this, Andrew?" Felicity asked, suspicion now tempering her tone._

"_My Grandpa used to work for Gardner Labs in the 70s." Andrew disclosed, but didn't elaborate. "So will you?"_

"_I don't know about stopping it. It depends on what the problem actually is, but I can certainly make sure safety measures are put in place."_

_Andrew nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought."_

"_What is it, Andrew? Why are you so-," Felicity's phone rang, interrupting her question. She pointed, indicating for Andrew to hang on a second, but by the time she'd finished her conversation and looked up, he had gone._

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Felicity's eyes sprung open. "Wow, this stuff really works. I could see all of that, like it was really happening."

Oliver smiled softly. "Concentrate. Don't lose focus. Then what? You went to find the report?"

She shook her head, aware of a dull throbbing behind her eyes. "Obviously I did, but, I don't know. I can't remember."

"Yes you can, it's all in there." Oliver reached out and touched her hand. "Just relax. Close your eyes again."

Felicity imagined the sun on her face and started to remember fragments. "I did walk to the Krystal Building and... and I was told to speak to this old Lab Technician. Apparently he kept their archive, too. I... I think his name was Charlie."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"_Hello, Charlie? I'm Felicity Smoak," she said as she walked towards him. "I'm Ray Palmer's Exec-,"_

"_I know who you are, Miss Smoak. You're the new boss's assistant."_

_Felicity felt her face flush. "Assistant... ahh... not exactly." She started to point out._

"_Seen you on TV with that Arrow man, too. I keep up with things." He grinned at her. "What can I do for you?"_

"_The lady at the reception down stairs said you'd be able to help me locate something in your archive."_

_Charlie grinned. "Did she just? And what would that be, Miss Smoak?"_

"_A study by a Dr. James on the concerns around using Dwarf-Star Alloy."_

_Charlie froze. He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "Why?"_

"_Because the mine has been reopened and I want to triple check that it's going to be safe."_

_Charlie grinned, except it wasn't friendly. "Why they send you, when they already sent that other girl?" he asked suspiciously. _

"_What other girl? Has someone else been looking for this study, recently, too?"_

"_Yep, pretty thing. Said she had done her research and it would be different this time" He looked at her as if she was to blame. "Both know that ain't gonna happen. Was never the mine that was the problem."_

_This guy obviously knew more than he was letting on, but he saw Felicity as just another corporate face of hypocrisy. She knew she needed to win him over. "Aww... How old is he?" Felicity picked up the photo frame on Charlie's desk. "This your grandson?"_

_Charlie smiled. Pride in his eyes. "Great grandson," he said. "He's gonna be two in January. January 28__th __to be precise. I haven't met him yet, but I've seen lots of photos. I'm going down there to see them in two weeks and three day. Finally bought my plane ticket. They live in Australia."_

"_Wow." Felicity felt a sudden twang of guilt. "That's fantastic, it really is."_

_Charlie nodded and his smile slipped. "Come on then," he said as he grabbed a large set of keys from behind him. "Maybe you'll be the one to really do something, who knows. Follow me."_

"_Why are you so sceptical about this?" she asked as she walked beside Charlie._

"_We were hoping that things might change when Mr. Palmer took the business over. He bought all the labs and got Mr. Gardner to sell him the mine. Really thought he might do the right thing this time. But he didn't. To tell you the truth, I'm really surprised. He seemed like a decent enough chap"_

_Felicity was starting to feel really uncomfortable. "So... are you saying that the Dwarf-Star alloy is dangerous, too?"_

_Charlie stopped and turned to look at her. He shook his head. "Hundreds have died from it over the years."_

_Felicity sucked in a sharp breath. "I've read reports the mine wasn't the best, but I know for a fact that Ray sent a crew down there to assess it."_

"_Yep... Apparently it's in tip-top shape now, but that was never the point. They stopped mining the stuff for a reason. It's unstable."_

"_Unstable?" Felicity felt sick. This was not adding up. "How do you know all this?"_

_Charlie grinned. "Well, Miss Smoak, I-,"_

"_Felicity."_

"_Well, Miss Felicity... I'm 71 years old and I've been a Lab Assistant here for almost 30 years. It's quiet and there's not much to do for an old geezer like me, but they keep paying me, so I keep coming in. I was, however, around when that Dwarf-Star metal was first being mined."_

_Felicity's eyebrows rose. "Did you happen to know or know of, a Dr. Michael James?"_

_Charlie nodded. "Sure, everyone knew Mickey. He was one of the nicest guys. He was one of the lead scientists, but he treated everyone real good and with a lot of respect. Not like some of the others. Anyhow... All that stuff about Dwarf-Star caught my interest, so I kept track. Really did think it'd be different this time. Especially after that girl came around." _

"_How long ago was that?"_

_He scratched the back of his neck. "Don't know off the top of my head, 'bout a month ago, maybe. I had to check the box out, so I can give you the exact time and date."_

_Felicity was deep in thought when they arrived at the door to the Archive room. Ray had a report about people dying from this alloy? What the...? Felicity's heart started to thunder. She had helped Ray buy that mine. She sighed, counted internally to 10 and gave herself a mental slap. Ray wasn't like that. She shouldn't jump to conclusions. "Maybe he never saw that report?" she said out loud, absentmindedly. _

"_Here we are," Charlie said as started to unlock the door. He looked at her the way he did a few minutes ago. "Mr. Palmer was the one that commissioned the report."_

"_How do you know that?"_

_Charlie shrugged and pushed the door open. "That's what that girl said." His eyes widened. "Donna. That was her name. Donna Graham."_

_Felicity's mind searched for the name, having a photographic memory really was an asset. "She's one of Ray's research Assistants." Felicity shook her head and her heart skipped a beat. If Ray commissioned the report, then there was no way he wouldn't have seen it. This was all too coincidental and it didn't sit well with her. As if on auto, she did what she always did when in doubt. She called Oliver._

"_Hey, it's me."_

"_Yes, me?" Oliver answered playfully._

"_I need you to get down to the Krystal Building. There's a coffee shop on the 1__st__ floor. I'll meet you there."_

"_Are you okay?" Oliver asked his tone switching instantly._

"_I'm fine. Just... Could you come straight away?"_

"_Of course, sit tight. I'll be there in a few minutes."_

_Felicity ended the call and looked across at Charlie as he stepped up on the stool. She felt like she should be the one retrieving the box, but he grabbed it and handed it down to her, before descending._

_The report was easy enough to find and Felicity couldn't wait to read it fully. From what her speed reading expertise could take in at a glance, she also couldn't wait to confront Ray with it. How could he expect people to work with such dangerous substances?_

"_Thank you, Charlie." She extended her hand to shake his. "You've been a great help and I promise. This won't be the end of it."_

_Charlie looked down at her hand and hesitated for a moment before taking it. "I hope so, Miss Felicity. I hope so."_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Felicity's eyes shot open and she covered her ears. "It's so loud! People are screaming!"

There was fear on her face and Oliver went straight into protective mode. "Felicity, it's okay, you're safe."

"I can't hold on!" Felicity shuffled back on her bottom and Oliver moved forward. "Felicity!" He placed his hands on her shoulders and made her look at him. "Hey!"

Slowly her eyes seemed to focus and tears started to well. "There was a bang and then there were people everywhere, but I shouldn't have let go," she sobbed softly, almost to herself.

"Shouldn't have let go of what?"

"Charlie! We shook hands and... and then... there was no floor. I don't know how, but I managed to grab hold of something and I had him. I had him, but the building was shaking and breaking apart. I couldn't hold on." She looked up into Oliver's eyes. "Oh my God... I let him go."

Oliver slid closer and wrapped her in his arms. He squeezed and kissed the top of her head. "That's not your fault. There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have held on," She choked out.

He must have said there was nothing she could have done, or something similar as least 10 times while they sat there. Felicity sobbed her heart out and he just held her while she talked and cried and told him about Charlie's great grandson in Australia. She described the falling feeling before she lost consciousness and how Oliver had been her last thought. He was rocking her slowly now and he could tell from her breathing she was almost asleep.

He couldn't reach his own phone, but as always, Felicity's was handy. He grabbed it and hit Diggle's number.

"Felicity? Everything okay?" Diggle asked.

"Hey, no, it's me. I need you to do me a favour. I want you to find as much out about an Alloy called Dwarf-Star and its possible uses. It seems that our Mr. Palmer is not such a Good Samaritan after all."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Update?" Oliver said as he came down the stairs to the Arrow Cave.

Diggle stood up from Felicity's station and smiled. "Good morning. I'm fine, thanks. How are you?"

Oliver wasn't in the mood. "Not great. Spent most of the night keeping Felicity calm and waking her from nightmares."

Diggle's face changed immediately. "Calm? What's happened?"

"She couldn't remember why she went to the Krystal building. I helped her."

"Let me guess. She was digging up dirt on Dwarf-Star?"

Oliver nodded. "Have you found anything?" He started to pace. "Why the hell would Palmer want it so bad that he would risk lives?"

"I can tell you that," Felicity said from the top of the stairs.

Oliver frowned. "You were asleep when I left."

Felicity lifted a finger. "That was over an hour ago and... Correction...You thought I was asleep when you left." She stared down the stairs and sighed. "I'm not sure..."

Oliver didn't need her to finish the sentence. He climbed the stairs to stand beside her. "Hold on tight." He picked her up gently and carried her down.

Diggle grinned. "You're still pretty agile with that thing on your leg."

"Comes off in one week," he said as he put Felicity down.

"I wish I could say the same." Felicity rolled her eyes and moved to sit at her computer.

"Okay," Oliver directed his attention at her. "You know why Palmer wants the alloy?"

"He's building a suit. A.T.O.M. It stands for Advanced Technology Operating Mechanism. He said he wanted to help protect the city."

Oliver glanced at her and turned away. He was angry, but unsure why. Was it that Palmer wanted to be a hero, or that Felicity hadn't said anything about this?

"In essence it's an alloy that, once manipulated, can... shrink things."

Both Oliver and Diggle frowned. "That's impossible," Oliver quipped.

Felicity looked up at him. "Really? We've seen a lot of impossible, Oliver. Barry, for instance. Ray definitely believes he can do this and I believe him. Some of his research is incredible. "

A spike of jealousy hit and Oliver curled his fist. "Maybe so, but at what cost?"

Felicity sighed and Oliver realized he sounded like he was blaming her. He was about to apologise when Felicity spoke.

"You're right. I don't want to believe it, but the evidence is stacked. I'm not sure if it's possible..." Felicity looked down at Oliver's ankle. "... but I think Ray needs to answer a few questions and I think the Arrow needs to be the one asking them."

Frustration boiled up in Oliver. "I wish I could. You don't know how much, but this would kind of be noticeable, don't you think?" He lifted his foot.

"I've got that covered," Diggle piped up. "Or should I say, Cisco has." Diggle moved to a box on the table. "This arrived this morning. Apparently he heard about your ankle." He pulled out the single content from the box.

Oliver grinned. "A long white sock?"

"Yeah, looks like it, doesn't it," Diggle commented.

"Oh, my gosh," Felicity squealed as she reached out and felt the fabric. "That's Polyphyso material. I can't believe he really did it. The guy's a genius."

"Did what?" Oliver asked.

"It's applications are numerable, but basically, if you pull the sock on it will form perfectly to your shape. It will kind of glue to your skin once you submerge in water. Once you dry it off it hardens, but not like plaster. It's thin, light and more importantly, flexible. It should give you almost normal movement, but appropriate support."

Oliver grinned. "I love Cisco."

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Ray was in bed when he heard the shattering of glass. He had hardly enough time to sit up, before he had an arrow pointed at his head.

"Dwarf Star alloy!" The Arrow bellowed. "It's killed people in the past and you know it. Why are you ignoring that now?"

Ray blinked and wiped the sleep from one of his eyes. "I... I'm not."

"The alloy is unstable."

"Correction..." Ray sat up a little straighter. "It was unstable. Not anymore. I've spent years and millions of dollars to get to this point. To make it safe." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and the Arrow took a step back. Ray looked down at the Arrow's leg. No cast.

"What do you plan to do with the alloy?" The Arrow asked. His gruff voice tinged with threat.

Ray sucked in a nervous breath. He had been so sure that Oliver Queen and the Arrow were one in the same person. Could he have been wrong? "It's an ingredient that enables things to clump together and..." Ray met the Arrow's eyes. "... and in effect... shrink."

"Why?"

Ray smiled, involuntarily puffing out his chest. "Think about it. I mean the applications are endless. Science, Technology, engineering and the medical applications are mind boggling. Maybe Fantastic Voyage wasn't fantasy after all?" He stood slowly and used his hands for emphases. " Imagine a brain surgeon being able to enter through the ear cannel and operate without having to cut through a person's skull? What if you could literally go in and search for pathogen cells. You could physically combat cancer or... HIV by killing the cells individually? Don't you see? This could change everything."

The Arrow stood silent for a moment and Ray knew he was weighing up his words and his honesty. "How could you have spent years making it safe? You only just received Dr. James' report."

Ray squinted. How did he know about that? "I only just learned about that report," Ray was honest. "Everything that Dr. James reported was true, but I had already discovered these problems and rectified them. He took a small step forward. "I swear, I've looked at and tested every safeguard I've put in place, many many times. There were things that Dr. James didn't realize or didn't have the technology to combat. There are other variables, but the main danger is when it's in its raw state. Constant exposure to the skin and/or inhaling it are the main health risks. Kind of like asbestos, but no one will ever touch or inhale it again. I promise."

**00000000000000000000000**

Oliver stared at Ray for another moment. There was no doubt in his mind that Ray believed he was telling the truth. The brightness in his eyes and the enthusiasm in his voice, made Oliver a little envious. This guy really could make a difference. Not only to Starling, but to the world. "Do I have your guarantee that no one in the mines or the labs will ever be put at risk?"

"You do," Ray said seriously and then smiled. "So does that mean we can be friends again?"

Oliver took off, jumping out of the broken window and tethering his way across to the opposite building. He looked back to see Ray watching. He couldn't help but grin when Ray waved. Damn he wanted to hate this guy, but he just couldn't.

As he made his way back to the Arrow Cave, Oliver thought about Felicity and the kiss he'd witnessed. Maybe she would be better off with someone like Ray? The chemistry was definitely there and he could give her the life and the lifestyle that she craved. Children and...

Oliver stopped at the top of the stairs. He looked down and Felicity looked up. That was all it took for his mind to switch gears and he remembered. He loved her too much to let her go.

"Well?" Felicity said in her usual tactless tone. "What did he say?"

Oliver put his bow and arrows away and moved to stand beside her at her computer. John moved closer and so did Roy. Oliver sighed. "I think he's on the up and up. Says he only just learnt about the James report, but he had it covered anyhow."

Felicity smiled and it went all the way to her eyes. "I knew it. I knew he was genuine."

"What now?" Diggle asked.

Oliver shrugged. "I guess we go back to looking for Sara's killer and for the bomber."

"Ahh," Diggle said, raising a finger. "I checked out this Andrew White, like you asked.

"You checked out one of my employees?" Felicity interjected.

"What did you find?" Oliver asked and turned to Felicity, waiting for the penny to drop.

"His grandfather worked for Gardner." Felicity finally put it together.

"Not only worked," Diggle informed. "He was the senior mining engineer. He constructed the conveyer belts and oversaw operations. He died fourteen years ago of lung cancer. Thing is though, he never smoked a day in his life."

"Then this is about revenge?" Felicity felt sick. "I thought the police were looking for that guy Mario?"

"Looks like. Mario was in New York at the time. Air tight alibi," Diggle responded.

A look transpired between the four of them and then Roy was suiting up and Diggle was loading his gun. Evidence pointed to Andrew being the bomber.

"I can't believe it," Felicity mumbled to herself. "He's such a... shy kind of guy."

"They say, watch out for the shy ones," Roy offered as he put his boots on.

"Ain't that the truth," Felicity agreed and started to tap at her keyboard. "No wonder Andrew was so curious about the mine reopening."

"Ready?" Oliver asked as he grabbed his bow.

Roy stood up and Diggle nodded.

He looked over at Felicity who was still looking at the screen.

"I've pinged his phone," Felicity explained. "He's on the corner of West and Ground Streets." She clicked a few more keys and continued. "He lives with his mother." She looked up at him and Oliver could already see the compassion in her eyes.

He reached out and touched her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll make sure he's not with her when we bring him down."

Felicity smiled sadly and there was resignation in her tone. "See you when you get back."

He let his hand slide across her back as he left and caught up with Diggle.

"You haven't told her yet, have you?" Diggle asked, a lopsided grin on his face.

"No," Oliver replied and quickened his pace. "But I'm going to. I just... need to find the right time."

Diggle nodded. "Ah ha... So we're back to that again, are we?"

Oliver made a face and shook his head. "Shut up."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

It only took a couple of minutes to go by, before Felicity was doing her usual internal panic. Oliver was yet to make radio contact and she hated being out of the loop. Andrew's house was across town and even on the bikes it would take them at least seven minutes. She kicked herself for being the one to recommend radio silence when they were riding at high speeds.

"Where's Barry when you need him?" Felicity mumbled out loud. She sighed and hit a search engine key on her computer. She needed to distract herself for a few minutes. "Okay, Andrew White. How did you get the materials to make a bomb?" She typed and broke the firewalls within seconds.

As her eyes started to scan Andrew's banking details, her communication light lit up and she clicked her ear piece. "Oliver?"

"Yeah, we're here. Roy's gone around back and John's going to see if he can lure Andrew out of the house. Roy will handle Mrs. White if he can't. Is there a Mr. White?"

"Roger that," Felicity said in a professional tone. She pulled up a photo and some basic information. "Umm, no. He died in a car crash in 2004. Hmmm... He was a Marine, Special Opps."

"That could explain why Andrew knew how to build a bomb," Roy chimed in.

"Mrs. White is 61 and teaches Veterinary Science at a local college. First name Julie. I think she's-,"

"I'm in position," Diggle interrupted. "Ready to knock."

"I'm at the back door," Roy added.

"Okay, John," Oliver instructed. "You're on."

**0000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Ahh, hello, Mrs. White, is it?" Diggle asked, when the main door opened.

"Yes?" She squinted suspiciously through the screen door.

"I was looking for Andrew, I understand he lives here?"

"Who are you?"

"My name's John Diggle. I work with Andrew's boss Felicity. I was wondering if I could just have a word with him?"

"What's going on, Ma?" Andrew called from behind the door and then walked to stand beside her. Andrew looked a little confused. "Oh, Mr. Diggle," Andrew said as he opened the screen door. "Come in. What are you doing here?"

"You know this man?" Mrs. White asked, looking between the two of them.

"Yeah, Ma, this is Oliver Queen's Chauffeur."

Diggle raised an eyebrow and tried not to grin. It really was a good cover. "I just need to speak to you for a couple of minutes, if that's okay?"

Andrew swiped back his hair. "Ahh, sure. What is it? He gestured to a chair for Diggle to sit down.

"Well, actually. I need you to look at a couple of security photos. There on my laptop, but the darn thing has gone dead. It's charging in the car." He gestured. "Would you mind? Only take a moment."

"Security photos?" Mrs. White questioned.

"Yes." Diggle had to think quickly. "A package has gone missing and we've captured an image. We'd like to know if Andrew remembers seeing him."

Andrew nodded. "Okay, well, let me just get some shoes on."

"Sure," Diggle said with a smile.

Mrs White watched Andrew walk into the bedroom and then crossed her arms. "Must be some important package?"

Diggle could tell that Mrs. White was not buying any of this. "Apparently," he said and continued to smile.

"Okay, I'm ready." Andrew walked back out, but Mrs. White grabbed him by the forearm.

"Hang on a second," Mrs. White said and squinted her eyes at him. "You spent any time in the military, son?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thought so. Can tell by the way you hold yourself." She held up a finger. "Could you just wait here for one second? I have something I want to show you."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"What the-?" Felicity hit a few more keys. She switched the frequency and brought Oliver over, too. "Oliver? Are you there? There's something strange about this."

"About what?"

"Well first off, there is absolutely nothing unusual about Andrew White's bank accounts. Usually you find something. Some trace of where he's spent money. But unless he's buying bomb parts from Subway and Savers, he had to have some other way of funding this. No large withdraws. I mean, this stuff isn't cheap, so he needed to have had a backer or he's really and I mean, really good, at hiding money."

"Hang on. I'm getting in closer. Mrs. White just closed the front door. Patch me back to Diggle's feed."

She hit the frequency button, but didn't notice the warning light as she switched screens to bring up more detail on Andrew's life. She knew something was up. She didn't know how, but she did. "Oh, and what is this?" Andrew's mother had a sealed file and it was sealed good. Felicity was having real trouble breaking through the barriers to get it to open. Someone sure did want this to be kept secret. "This has military written all over it," Felicity said out loud.

"Oliver? I think I've found something."

"Felicity? You're—break- up."

Felicity tapped her ear piece and realized the warning light on the control panel was flashing. It meant that the power was out. Everything was being run on their backup generators. She switched to the local news and there had in fact been a localized power failure. It appeared that a truck had bought down overhead powerlines and it had caused a short, taking out a five block radius. "Oh, boy." Thea was going to be so pissed. The club was not opening tonight.

"Oliver, there's been an accident near base. All the power's out. We're running on the generator. It has a tendency to mess with communications."

"I think Diggle's in - ble."

"Oliver? Say again, I didn't catch that."

There was static on the line and she could only hear Oliver. Where the hell was John or Roy for that matter?

"I'm going in," Oliver said.

"Oliver, wait!" Felicity yelled, but a second later the static grew so loud that she needed to remove her ear piece.

She sighed as she looked back to the screen. The document had finally opened. "Oh shit."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Oliver scouted the White's living room and what he saw made him pause. If things weren't so serious, he would have laughed. Both Diggle and Roy were tied up on the couch and their mics were on the floor, smashed. It wasn't just the power lines that had caused radio problems.

"Felicity, can you hear me?"

No answer, only static. How could this have happened? Andrew had gotten the best of both of them and was pacing the room with a gun in his hand. He looked like he was ranting. Mrs. White was sitting opposite the window, very still and looking a little pale.

There was no two ways about it. He would need to go in hard and bring Andrew down, before he could fire a shot.

As he came through the window a shot rang out. He had expected for Andrew to be able fire off at least one shot, but Oliver had calculated its trajectory. It should have missed. He grabbed at the sharp pain that going through his thigh as he fell straight to the floor. His hand slipped from the blood on his glove as he flipped over to pull an arrow from his quiver. It made that spit-second difference and then he was kicked in the face.

Lights out.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Oh my God, Ma. Why is this happening? I shouldn't have got you involved." Andrew swiped back his hair and stared at Oliver, unconscious on the floor. "There is no way out of this, now. That's the Arrow."

"I know who it is," Mrs. White snapped back.

Diggle couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could they have gotten it so wrong?

"I shouldn't have told you, Ma. I should have kept my bloody mouth shut." Tears welled in Andrew's eyes. "If I had, none of this would have happened." He flopped down beside his mom. "I don't know what to do."

"Put a tourniquet on his leg, for one thing." Diggle jutted his chin towards Oliver. "That bullet hit his thigh, which means it could have hit an artery. Don't let him die, Andrew. That's first degree murder."

Andrew frowned and looked over at Oliver, like he was weighing it up.

"Please, Andrew. Don't make this worse," Diggle pleaded. "Just put it on, so at least there is a choice. If he dies, because-,"

"Shut up!" Andrew screamed and stood up. He looked back at his mom as if for approval and grabbed a towel and some more rope. He took hold of Oliver by the leg and placed the towel on wound, tying it on with the rope.

He stood up and looked over at his mom. "There's only one choice here."

Mrs. White narrowed her eyes. "And what would that be?"

"Tell them that I did it. I built the bomb because they wouldn't listen. There was no way I'd let them kill others like they did Granddad."

Mrs. White stood up and smiled. There were tears in her eyes, too. "I love you and I'm the one that should be sorry, but you're not going to jail. No one is. We're sticking to the original plan. You were home with me, when the bomb went off."

"Maaa..." Andrew said in whiney voice. He looked at him and Roy and then down at Oliver. "What happens to them?"

"Casualties of war," Mrs. White said as she raised the semi-automatic pistol in her hand. She pointed it at Roy and Diggle spoke quickly.

"Wait, Mrs. White... Julie... Please don't do this. There's another way, we-,"

**00000000000000000000000000000000000**

Oliver's head throbbed for the few seconds as he listened, trying to get his bearings on what was going on. Playing dead was a tactical advantage, but then...

"Hey!"

Oliver's eyes shot open. Felicity? He could barely believe what he was seeing as she swung her crutch to Mrs. White's head and it connected with a loud crack.

Mrs. White staggered, but recovered quickly. Too quickly. Felicity lunged forward and then they were fighting for a gun. They both had hands on it when Mrs. White, snatched, spun and broke free. The gun fell from her hands and then she kicked out at Felicity's leg. It connected, but her foot met with solid plaster instead instead of bone.

Ouch, Oliver thought as he drew his bow and pointed it at Andrew. "Enough!" he yelled.

Felicity took the moment of distraction to do a roundhouse kick, of sorts, to Mrs. White's knee. That plaster really could do some damage with very little force and Mrs. White went down straight away.

Felicity grabbed the gun from the floor and pointed it at her. "Mrs. Julie White. Veterinary Nurse. College Educator, Animal Behaviourist and Bomb Expert." Felicity was breathing heavily, her hand trembling from the adrenaline. "She trained some of the first dogs used as bomb detectors in Nam. That's how she met her husband. I'm not sure if Andrew had anything at all to do with this, but she's our bomber."

"He didn't." Mrs. White went into mother mode. "Please... All he did was tell me the alloy was being mined again. I did the rest. He knew nothing until the bomb went off." She started to weep. "You have no idea what that stuff can do and how many people it's affected. But nobody listened. Nobody paid any attention. This was the biggest cover up since Agent Orange."

While Oliver managed to get himself close enough to undo Diggle's hands, Felicity grabbed Mrs. White by the forearm and encouraged her to her feet.

"That maybe so, Mrs. White, but over 400 people lost their lives on one day. For what? So you could make some sort of point?"

Mrs. White looked at Felicity, tears streaming down her face. "You have no idea the agony my father went through."

Felicity nodded and started to march her out of the front door. "You have no idea how many memories a little boy in Australia will never have."

Oliver glanced across at Diggle as he helped release Roy. He smiled, a sense of pride filling his heart as he watched Felicity escort the woman away, broken leg and all. "I love that girl."

Diggle looked at Roy and answered for both of them. "We know. Just wish you'd let her in on it."

Oliver nodded, his smile not slipping. "Yeah, when the time is right."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

No one, including Oliver, could ever have guessed when that would be.

Especially not, as he walked away to fight a deadly duel with Ra's al Ghul.

As it turned out. Diggle was right. There never really was, 'a right time.'

**THE END.**


End file.
